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The Craziest HOA Violations

People like to complain about rules. It’s in our nature. Rules placed on us that are at most inconvenient, or a little unfair, turn into grave injustices in our own minds. If you live in an HOA, it’s likely that you’ve either been warned about a rules violation, or have a neighbor who has. In the unlikely event that everyone in your neighborhood obeys all the rules, it’s at least likely that you’ve grumbled to one another about one or two that feel particularly ridiculous.

As bad as we like to imagine we have it, some HOAs take rules above and beyond “inconvenient” into “absurd.” Below the break, we’ve got a list of some of the most absurd rules that HOAs have fined or punished residents for breaking.

Craziest Rules Violations Ever

In the unlikely event that a plane crashes into your neighbor’s house and kills his wife and infant child, you’d have some sympathy, right? A man in Florida found himself in this situation, and discovered that his HOA was quick to take action after the accident … by slapping him with a rules violation because the shingles didn’t match while he repaired his roof.

If you live in Florida, you know that hurricane shutters are an absolute necessity for protecting homes during storms. Apparently, a few HOA boards didn’t get the memo on that one; several of them classify hurricane shutters as “eyesores” and will fine residents for having them on their houses.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. In the case of one retirement community, it turns out it takes a village to drive a child away. After an elderly couple’s drug addicted daughter was ruled unfit to care for their six-year-old grandchild, the couple took the young girl in since she had nowhere to go. Their retirement community responded to this act of kindness by trying to force the girl out, and then by suing the grandparents when they couldn’t sell their home fast enough.

Still Think Your HOA’s Rules Are Bad?

Unless you’re unfortunate enough to live in one of the communities mentioned above, you’re probably feeling a bit better about the HOA where you live. For those poor souls stuck in those neighborhoods, let’s hope those HOAs aren’t also the same ones that sue their residents for posting “For Sale” signs in their yards.